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Svyatoslav II Yaroslavich of Kiev (1027-1076)
}} 1040–1054 | predecessor = | successor = | succession1 = Principality of Chernigov | reign1 = 1054–1077 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | succession2 = Grand Prince of Kiev | reign2 = 1073–1077 | predecessor2 = Izyaslav I Yaroslavich | successor2 = Vsevolod I Yaroslavich |spouse 1 =Killikiya or Kelikia (Cecilia) |spouse 2 =Oda of Staden |issue =Vysheslava Gleb Roman David Roman Oleg Yaroslav Daughter | house = Rurik | house-type =Dynasty |royal anthem = |father =Yaroslav the Wise |mother =Ingegerd of Sweden |birth_date = 1027 |birth_place = |death_date = 27 December |death_place = Kiev |date of burial = |place of burial = Holy Savior Cathedral, Chernigov (Chernihiv, Ukraine) }} Svyatoslav II Yaroslavich (1027 – 27 December 1076 in Kiev) was Grand Prince of Kiev between 1073 and 1076. He was born as a younger son of Grand Prince Yaroslav. His christian name was Nicholas. He ruled the Principality of Vladimir in Volhynia in his father's lifetime (from around 1040 to 1054). Yaroslav, who divided the Kievan Rus' between his five sons in his testament, willed the Principality of Chernigov to Svyatoslav. Svyatoslav joined his brothers, Izyaslav I Yaroslavich and Vsevolod Yaroslavich, in forming a princely "triumvirate" that oversaw the affairs of Kievan Rus' until 1072. The three brothers together fought against their enemies, including the nomadic Oghuz Turks, and their distant relative, Prince Vseslav of Polotsk. The Cumans defeated their united force in the autumn of 1068, but Svyatoslav routed a Cuman band plundering his principality. The "triumvirate" broke up, when Svyatoslav, supported by his younger brother Vsevolod, dethroned and replaced their older brother Izyaslav I Yaroslavich in 1073. He commissioned the compilation of at least two miscellanies of theological works. Otherwise, his short reign was uneventful. Early life Svyatoslav was the fourth son of Yaroslav, Grand Prince of Kiev, and his wife, Ingegerd of Sweden. He was born in 1027. The Lyubetskiy sinodik — a list of the princes of Chernigov which was completed in the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Lyubech — writes that his baptismal name was Nicholas. The Russian Primary Chronicle writes that Svyatoslav was staying "at Vladimir"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6562), p. 143. (Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Ukraine) in Volhynia around the time his father fell seriously ill before his death. According to the historian Martin Dimnik, the chronicle's report shows that Yaroslav had, most probably in about 1040, appointed Svyatoslav to rule this important town of the Kievan Rus'. On his deathbed, Yaroslav divided the most important towns of his realm among his five sons — Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, Vsevolod, Igor, and Vyacheslav — who survived him. To Svyatoslav, he bequeathed Chernigov (Chernihiv, Ukraine). The dying grand prince also ordered that his four younger sons should "heed"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6562), p. 142. their eldest brother, Izyaslav who received Kiev. Triumvirate (1054–1132)]] Yaroslav died on 20 February 1054. His three elder sons — Izyaslav of Kiev, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod of Pereyaslav — decided to jointly govern the Kievan Rus'. Historian Martin Dimnik writes that taking into account Svyatoslav's political and military skills it "is reasonable to assume that he was one of the main motivating forces, if not the actual architect, of many of the policies adopted" by the three brothers. The "triumviri" closely cooperated in the following years. In 1059 they liberated their uncle, Sudislav whom their father had sent to prison around 1035. They made a joint expedition "by horse and ship against the Torks"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6568), p. 143. or Oghuz Turks, according to the Russian Primary Chronicle, in 1060. On hearing of the arrival of the Rus' forces, the Torks fled from their lands without resistance. In 1065, Svyatoslav led his troops against his nephew, Rostislav Vladimirovich, who had in the previous year expelled by force Svyatoslav's son, Gleb Svyatoslavich|Gleb from Tmutarakan. Upon Svyatoslav's arrival, Rostislav withdrew from this important center of his uncle's domains, but he reoccupied it after Svyatoslav had returned to Chernigov. A distant cousin of the "triumviri", Vseslav Bryacheslavich (Prince of Polotsk), attacked Pskov in 1065, according to The Chronicle of Pskov. Vseslav Bryacheslavich could not take this town, but he seized and plundered Novgorod — which had been ruled by Izyaslav of Kiev's son, Mstislav — in the next winter. Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod soon united their forces and set forth against Vseslav, "though it was the dead of winter",Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6575), p. 145. according to the Russian Primary Chronicle. They routed Vseslav's army by the Battle of the Nemiga River (near Minsk) on 3 March 1066. Vseslav, who fled from the battlefield, agreed to enter into negotiations with the "triumviri", but they treacherously captured him at a meeting at Orsha in early June. The Cumans, who had emerged as the dominant power of the Pontic steppes in the early 1060s, invaded the southern regions of Kievan Rus' in 1068. The three brothers together marched against the invaders, but the Cumans] routed them in the Battle of the Alta River. From the battlefield, Svyatoslav withdrew to Chernigov and regrouped his troops. He returned to defeat the Cumans with a smaller force at the town of Snovsk on 1 November, thus enhancing his prestige among the populace. In the meantime, the townspeople of Kiev had dethroned and expelled Svyatoslav's brother, IzyaslavIzyaslav. Taking advantage of Izyaslav's absence, Svyatoslav sent his own son, Gleb to Novgorod to rule the town. Izyaslav returned at the head of Polish reinforcements. The townspeople of Kiev sent messages to Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, imploring them to come to their "father's city"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6577), p. 149. and defend it, according to the Russian Primary Chronicle. Svyatoslav and Vsevolod requested Izyaslav "not to lead the Poles in attack upon Kiev", stating that "if he intended to nurse his wrath and destroy the city, they would be properly concerned for the ancestral capital". Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6577), pp. 149–150. Izyaslav partially acquiesced: he did not let his Polish allies enter the town, but his retinue slaughtered or mutilated many of his opponents in Kiev. He also attempted to punish Anthony — the founder of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev — who had supported his enemies, but Svyatoslav gave shelter to the saintly monk in Chernigov. With Izyaslav's return to Kiev, the "triumvirate" was restored. The three brothers together visited Vyshhorod in order to participate in the translation of the relics of their saintly uncles, Boris and Gleb on 3 May 1072. According to The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb, Svyatoslav took Saint Gleb's hand and "pressed it to his injury, for he had pain in his neck, and to his eyes, and to his forehead"The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb ("On the Translation of the Holy Martyrs"), p. 215. before placing it back into the coffin. In short Svyatoslav felt a pain at the top of his head and his servant found a fingernail of the saint under his cap. Most historians agree that the three brothers expanded their father's legal code on this occasion, but the exact date is unknown. Grand Prince of Kiev According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, "the devil stirred up strife"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6581), p. 155. among the three brothers shortly after the canonization of Saints Boris and Gleb. Svyatoslav and Vsevolod united their forces and expelled Izyaslav from Kiev on 22 March 1073. The chronicler put the blame for this action on Sviatoslav, stating that "he was the instigator of his brother's expulsion, for he desired more power". The chronicler also states that Svyatoslav had "misled Vsevolod by asserting that" Izyaslav "was entering into an alliance" with Vseslav Bryacheslavich against them. Modern historians disagree about the motives of Sviatoslav's action. Franklin and Shepard write that he was driven by "straightforward greed"; Martin says that Svyatoslav who seems to have suffered from a grave illness wanted to secure his sons' right to Kiev which would have been lost if Svyatoslav "had predeceased Izyaslav without having ruled" the town. In fact, the Russian Primary Chronicle states that it was Sviatoslav who "ruled in Kiev after the expulsion" of Izyaslav. Initially, the head of the Monastery of the Caves, Feodosy criticized Svyatoslav for usurping the throne. However, before his death in May 1074 he was reconciled with the grand prince, who supported the foundation of a stone church dedicated to the Mother of God in Kiev. Svyatoslav also supported the compilation of ecclesiastic works. Two izborniki or miscellanies — collections of excerpts from the Bible and from theological works — were completed under his auspices in 1073 and 1076. According to the Izbornik of 1073, Svyatoslav, who is praised as a "new Ptolemy", had by that time collected a great number of spiritual books. Svyatoslav's rule was short and uneventful. His dethroned brother first fled to Poland, but Duke Boleslav II, who was Svyatoslav's son-in-law, expelled him from his lands. Next Izyaslav sought the assistance of the German monarch, Henry IV. The latter, in 1075, sent his envoys — including Svyatoslav's brother-in-law, Burchard — to Kiev to collect more information. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, "in his pride", Svyatoslav "showed them his riches", displaying them "the innumerable quantity of his gold, silver and silks".Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6583), p. 165. In 1077 Svyatoslav sent reinforcements to Poland to help his son-in-law against the Bohemians. Svyatoslav died on 27 December 1076. The Russian Primary Chronicle writes that "the cutting of a sore"Russian Primary Chronicle (year 6584), p. 165. caused his death. He was buried in the Holy Savior Cathedral in Chernigov. Within a year, his elder brother Izyaslav was restored and Svyatoslav's sons lost most parts of his domains. Family According to the Lyubetskiy sinodik, Svyatoslav's wife was a certain Cecilia of Dithmarschen (c1030-c1070). On the other hand, German chroniclers write that his wife was Oda, a sister of Burchard, the Provost of Trier and she gave birth to one son. A portrait depicting Svyatoslav and his family in the Izbornik of 1073 shows that he had five sons and four of them were adults at the time their portrait was made. Based on these sources, it is obvious that Svyatoslav married twice. According to Dimnik, Svyatoslav married his first wife, Cecilia between 1043 and 1047. Their first child seems to have been a daughter, Vysheslava. Her eldest brother Gleb became Prince of Tmutarakan and later of [of Novgorod|Novgorod}. The second son of Svyatoslav and Cecilia of Dithmarschen (c1030-c1070) was Oleg, the future prince of Chernigov. David, the future prince of Novgorod and Chernigov was born around 1051. Roman, who became prince of Tmutarakan, was born around 1052. Svyatoslav married his second wife, Oda of Stade in about 1065. According to Dimnik. Oda, the daughter of Lothair Udo I, Margrave of the Nordmark, was in some way related to Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. There is, however, no real evidence to support this claim. She gave birth to Svyatoslav's fifth son, Yaroslav, who later became prince of Murom and Chernigov. After Svyatoslav's death, Oda and her son moved to the Holy Roman Empire. See also *List of Ukrainian rulers *List of Russian rulers References Sources Primary sources *''The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text'' (Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor) (1953). Medieval Academy of America. . *"The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb" In Kantor, Marvin (1983). Medieval Slavic Lives of Saints and Princes. University of Michigan. . Secondary sources * * * * * Further reading * 1054 1073 Category:Rurikids Category:Rurik dynasty Category:11th-century princes in Kievan Rus' Category:Orthodox monarchs